Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Looking for the October Release Sneak Peeks? Well, due to circumstances beyond my control, the October Sneak Peeks will be delayed by a week. We will start previews here on the Design Blog on Oct. 4th. We have some fantastic releases lined up over the next couple of months, I for one am extremely excited! I have been in an illustrating mood lately and just didn't want to break the flow. ;o)

Monday, September 27, 2010

I've got a easy and fun Halloween card to share. I used the super cute Halloween Time printable stamp set from The Cutting Cafe.

Aren't those boots just the cutest?! And that's just a small peak into the 55 images included in the Halloween Time set for just $8.99!

I printed the sentiment and image onto Kraft card stock and colored the boots using Copics and Stampin' Write markers for the purple. I used PTI's Polka Dot Basics II for the background and added a bit of tissue paper to the top. Fast and easy. Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Though a bit late, it sure was worth it. I saw so many new entries and it made it harder than ever for me to pick my personal favorite. And I noticed that we had quite a few first time "On Cue" picks this month. I hope ya'll had as much fun playing along as I had viewing all of the entries! And remember, it's all about having fun! There really aren't any rules here...just something to start the juices flowing, and I always enjoy seeing where it takes you. ;o)

Be sure to check out all of the entries if you haven't already. The Color Cue is always packed with tons of talent and inspiration!

Congratulations Christina, you and your card will be featured on the homepage at the Studio, www.wplus9.com!

Thanks again to everyone who played along. If you are itching for a new combo, why not try out the current Color Cue? You have until October 7th to play along!

Monday, September 20, 2010

I actually created this a while ago using a sketch from one of the Papercrafts Magazine calls. I used the train and stars from our Kisses & Cuddles set. I really love the "old" Christmas feel this card has. The colors, the train, and PTI's Signature Greetings all just come together so well for this nostalgic little number.

If you are looking for the All Eyes On feature for this month, just scroll down or click here. ;o)

This month, here at The Studio, we are turning All Eyes On Color Misting. It seems to be everywhere lately, and for great reason. Color misting is so versatile and fun! Some of the more popular mists are Maya Mist and Glimmer Mist. You can use them to add color and/or sparkle to a project, with masking, to color with, or even to tint ribbon.

So each of us have created projects with a focus on this fabulous medium. I chose masking. I know...surprise, surprise. LOL I started with a Kraft card stock square, and placed a sticker to use as my mask in the center. To catch the over spray, I put the square in a shallow box and then lightly misted the entire piece with Chalkboard Glimmer Mist in Hot Chocolate. I really like the Chalkboard line, it has a bit less glitter in it and is more opaque than the regular line. I found it easiest to add one layer at a time and allow to dry between each layer until I achieved the desired depth.

The rest of the card came together quite quickly. I added some faux stitching and discovered this color combo by accident, but will definitely be using it again. PTI's Aqua Mist, Scarlet Jewel, Kraft, black and white. Love it.

The rest of the design team has some great stuff to share as well, be sure to check them out for some more misting fun.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Details

Create a card, scrapbook page, digital layout, tag, whatever...just make sure to use the above colors, yellow, scarlet, green, and white. PTI color equivalents are Harvest Gold, Scarlet Jewel, Simply Chartreuse, but anything you have on hand close to the colors will do. Black or Brown for sentiments or outlines is fine as always.

Deadline

You have until October 7th at 10:59 pm EST to play along. You will know the deadline has passed when the link to add your project is no longer available.

Bonus

If you have Wplus9 stamps in your stash, now would be the time to bust them out. I will be collecting lucky participants to feature as "On Cue with Color" here on the blog and at The Studio. If you don't have any yet...don't worry I still want to be inspired by you and you will still be featured here on the blog!

Here's some inspiration from the Wplus9 Design Team to get you started. Just click on each name to visit their blog and get the details on their projects.

I just love how this card turned out. I knew from the start that I wanted to use Wplus9's Funky Foliage. I wanted to create a larger focal point for the 5x5" card so I created this large tree by using a bit of masking for the trunk to create multiple branches. I then came in and added layers of leaves in a variety of colors to fill in the tree. Now it's been over 15 years since I've experienced a true fall and witnessed the trees change their colors. But in my world...they turn scarlet too. LOL

Monday, September 13, 2010

Often, I receive some very helpful feedback via the Contact Us form at the Wplus9 website. Admittedly, although rarely, some are written without the best intentions. (some people can be quite harsh) Ego aside, these are the ones that I can usually pull the best issues from. Go figure?! You see, most people are usually brutally honest when they are ticked and can voice their opinion anonymously by using a fake email address. And, it can actually be quite helpful. Now, that isn't an open invitation for everyone to start hate spamming me! Please, I'd much rather have a nice "hey, this bugs me" with a real email address so I can follow up with you and let you know if and when I can resolve your issue. LOL But, this does present me with the perfect opportunity to be proactive and request from you all, your open and honest feedback.

I have recently made some small adjustments to the website for my IE8 browser users to fix the main navigation. On a side note: Boy, do I wish all web browsers would render HTML consistently! Now that is a whole other post that I could rant on and on about forever...so I will leave that be for now. LOL

If you have shopped at the Studio, www.wplus9.com, and have any feedback or suggestions, I'd love it if you would share it with me. You can leave it here, or use the Contact Us form on the website. Even if you have not shopped with us, please feel free to visit the site and share your experience with us. For "bugs", don't forget to include what browser (IE7, IE8, Firefox, etc.) you are viewing the site in. Please note though, the website does not support IE6 though. The site should still function properly, but the display will certainly be "off" to say the least. On another side note: if you are still using IE6, if you can, make designer's lives easier and please, please, please consider upgrading to a current browser. It's free and you'll wish you did it sooner. ;o)

Thanks guys and I will be getting the On Cue up soon, I took the weekend off to celebrate my son's 10th birthday!

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

I refuse to accept the end of summer. Not because I love it so much, or that I dread fall. Exactly the opposite in fact. I love the holiday season! Everything about it. The weather, the clothes (can we say fashion heaven?!), the smells, the memories, the corny music...just everything about it. But, I'm also one of those people who prolongs and savors every moment. Yep, I'm that crazy person. You know...the who unwraps presents one piece of tape at a time. I eat my favorite dessert, cheesecake, only once a year. On my birthday, because it makes it that much more special. I actually held out opening my first sample sheet of Wplus9 stamps until late in the evening when I could open them, test them, and enjoy them uninterrupted. Yep, that's me.

So yes, I refuse to accept that summer is drawing to an end, because I know that the holidays will be over in a blink of an eye and I just want it to last. So, in my complete denial, I'm sharing a nice bright summery card with you today.

I am still loving this color combo and can not wait to go through all of the entries for the current Color Cue. You guys always blow me away! For this card, I paired some of that fabulous My Mind's Eye paper from the Quite Contrary collection with a sentiment from The Birds & The Bees. This one just makes me happy. ;o)

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend. I spent lots of much needed time with the family. Where does life go? Sometimes you just have to stop...and hug the kids.

Friday, September 3, 2010

I've received a lot of emails inquiring about Mehndi Medallions. I wanted to let you all know that we just received a small shipment and have a larger shipment on the way. You can pick yours up at The Studio, here.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Today is the day! Ever After is now available at www.wplus9.com. It's also, my favorite day of the release; Group Post Day. I seriously love these girls and look forward to seeing their creations every month! It's kind of my day to show my appreciation.

What is not to love here? The soft shimmery ribbon is the perfect accent to the glitter she's added to the edges of the gardenia. I love how she's used an envelope on the card itself, just imagine the sweet nothings you could tuck in there.

Oh what layers of sweet delight here. I am head over heels for Hannah's coloring. Her use of color is amazing. The bold flowers matted with a nice soft neutral, and then backed with a bright pink. The dimension created with just color is intoxicating.

Can I just say that I am beyond impressed with Jinny's debut on the design team and this is no exception. I mean I knew this girl was talented, but seriously, she pulled out all of the stops for this release. If you haven't checked out her release samples, you are totally missing out. Her layouts from Day 1 are divine.

I love Kerrianne's bold use of color. The black is the perfect backdrop for the white gardenia. The yellow twine pulls out the subtle yellow accents she's added to the flower and pulls the whole card full circle.

I could stare at this for hours. Seriously, I love the zig-zag stitching that contradicts the striped paper. The bland ghost of a flower placed behind the deep rich gardenias in the front. And that ribbon treatment. Crinkle ribbon, twill, and baker's twine together?! Who'd have thunk it? Pure genius!

Thanks for joining us this month and I hope you've enjoyed all of the design teams samples as much as I have.